Crash and Burn
by NinjaKitty1
Summary: Team 10 is drifting apart. Can Chouji bring his friends back together before it's too late. ShikaIno. Starts out with ShikaTema (Not for ShikaTema fans.)


Disclaimer: Naruto does not nor ever will or has ever belonged to me. If it did it would have a hell of a lot more ShikaIno in it! Hehe. Also the Title and Chapter titles are from the song "Crash and Burn" by Savage Garden. I take no credit for the title and chapter titles as well.

Note: This takes place after the three-year gap. Bear with me please if the manga changes and fudges up everything. I'm trying and it's my first shot at a Fan fiction.

Yamanaka Ino sat at the counter of the Yamanaka flower shop. She lazily turned the page of the magazine she was glancing at to pass the time. The short haired blond had been so spaced out that she did not even hear the bell on the shop door ring, or noticed her best friend and rival walk into the store and up to the counter. With the sound of Sakura clearing her throat, Ino looks up from her magazine.

"Sakura-Chan…what are you doing here? You're not going to buy flowers are you? No I didn't think so; you're such a free-loader. Now quite bothering me, big forehead!" Ino snapped before Sakura could say a word.

"Ino-Chan you pig headed girl! I just came in to say Hi to you! But if you're going to be like that then I should just leave. You're not worth my time anyway!" Sakura replied. She had been a bit shocked that Ino would start snapping at her for no apparent reason.

Ino blinked for a moment and then sat back down. She sighed and nodded before saying "I'm sorry Sakura-Chan….I'm just kind of aggravated at the moment. You didn't deserve that at all…Thanks for coming to say hi."

Sakura sat down behind the counter next to Ino and put her had on Ino's shoulder. Of course she knew her best friend was aggravated, she had every right to be, because her heart was breaking and every person in Konoha saw it…well everyone but the person that really mattered. Sakura sighed and then said quietly to Ino.

"Let's just hang out today, together…ok?"

"Ok" Ino replied in a way unlike her demeanor…quietly.

The two girls sat there until Ino's mom came in with a couple lunches, one for each of the girls. She was a lot happier now that Sakura and Ino were friends again, it gave her a reason to cook more food, and sometimes see her daughter smile. Sadly…Mrs. Yamanaka could tell that Ino was not going to be smiling anytime soon.

Ino's mother walked out of the room and let the two girls eat alone in the little flower shop. Every now and then a desperate lover would walk into the shop and ask for a dozen red roses to give to his lover. Each time that happened, Ino would get a little bit more cynical of love and make a comment on how red roses have become overrated. Sakura would make the sale as Ino stared at all the other flowers in the shop. Sakura felt so sorry for Ino, she just had to say something…anything

"It is all probably for the better Ino. Despite all his brilliance and genius and whatnot...if he can't see how perfect you are, then he's dumber then a door knob."

At that point Ino had found herself staring at the Stargazer lilies…and nodding distantly, allowing three tears trickle down her pale cheek.

Chouji Akimichi was the last member of team 10 to really give up on his team, though he would never be the one to admit it. Not until finally sitting alone in a Korean BBQ restaurant that he realized it. His team had drifted apart, and somehow he felt more alone now then ever before, as he sat there staring at nothing, longing for the companionship he felt when he was twelve. It was all disappearing now and there was nothing he could do about it but watch.

Chouji did not notice when his old mentor, Asuma, passed the restaurant. He did not notice when Asuma saw him and was shocked to see the boy was not digging into his food as he used to. This forced him, purely out of worry, to walk in and ask Chouji what was wrong. It was obvious to the teacher's keen eye that the boy was disheartened somehow and with Chouji that was something very rare.

"Hey! Chouji! Long time no see, how're you doing, kid?" asked Asuma in a cheery voice as he walked into the restaurant, pretending to have no idea that Chouji was upset. At the sound of his voice Chouji looked up and offered Asuma a weak smile and a halfhearted greeting, "Hi Asuma-sensei. It's nice to see you; it has been a long time hasn't it?"

"Mind if I join you?" Asuma asked once he got to the table and then sat down when Chouji motioned for him to do so. The bow just stared down at his food, not doing much with it other then pushing it around on the plate.

Asuma could tell that Chouji had something on his mind and wasn't completely hiding it from him so he figured now would be a good time to ask him what was wrong.

"Chouji? What's wrong kid, you're usually done with your plate by now."

Chouji looked up at Asuma and nodded slightly to him

"It seems our team is drifting so far apart. These past three years I have hardly seen Shikamaru and Ino together in the same room. Then again ever since he started dating Temari, she's been avoiding him. I mean sure, she'll come and visit me and we'll go out to talk, age has effected her bitching in a positive way, which Sasuke gone and all. Also, Shikamaru will go out with me once in a while…but recently not so much. I guess a certain Sand-nin takes precedence over old friendship? Either way I don't blame either of them for either being busy….or hiding. I just wish we weren't all drifting so far apart. The two of them were my first friends, Shikamaru stood up for me when no one else would, and Ino visited me in the hospital and was so generous. I guess things really haven't changed…but at the same time they are completely different."

Asuma nodded as he listened to his old student talk. It was true; he knew very well what was going on. They were all getting older, opening their eyes to life, and closing old memories off for newer ones. It could not be helped no matter what, he had seen it from just watching in the shadows, and Chouji was right.

Once Sasuke left, it did not take Ino long to figure out just how close her friends were, and for the first time actually feel shy and nervous around a boy, though it did not help it was her own teammate, Shikamaru. So she would avoid him, which is something all their lives she had not done, so it was awkward. In the past year Shikamaru started going out with Temari, and shrugging his responsibilities as a friend and teammate to Ino and Chouji.

The whole time Chouji sat there in the middle watching his friends drift away from him. It must have been killing him this whole time. No wonder the boy's appetite was dwindling, he was depressed from losing his closest friends.

Sweet breezes blew through the fully bloomed trees as the young couple sat under one such tree. It was around lunch time, and lunch meant that they could take time out of their busy schedules to relax and spend a little time together. She had made two boxed lunches, both of which had turkey and cheese sandwiches, some salad, some rice and as a treat, for each of them, a chocolate chip cookie. She made everything easy for him, easy to access, easy to handle, easy and not troublesome at all for him. Silently the two of them went on to eat their lunches side by side.

Once lunch was over, and it took a while, as they both took in their lunches slowly to enjoy every morsel she made, the garbage was discarded to the side. When they were ready they would gather their garbage and leave, but it was too early in the afternoon for that. Temari laid her head on Shikamaru's shoulder and sighed happily, it was moments like this that made her hectic life worth it.

"Shikamaru…you are the only person to make me feel this at ease. When I'm around you I feel relieved of all the duties I have to do even if just for a short while. Everything with you goes slowly and steadily and time seems to stand still. I could live this carefree and happy for the rest of my life" Temari whispered into Shikamaru's ear, her voice was low and sensual, the way an eighteen year old girl's voice should be. Hearing this Shikamaru let out a small smile and kissed Temari's forehead softly.

"Temari…heh. You're not nearly as troublesome as a girl should be. That's why I like you. You are like a breath of fresh air that allows me to relax, and unlike everyone else, you demand nothing of me." Shikamaru whispered to Temari after he kissed her forehead. This was one of the few nice things that Shikamaru said to her, and she understood it easily, anything else was too troublesome. This made her happy, because as always, he was right. She did not demand anything of him, unlike the way other girls are with their boyfriends. Unlike the way his superiors asked him to do everything just because he was so smart. She gave him the chance to do what he wanted when he wanted.

It was getting late and there was work still to be done, and Temari knew that very well. After whispering a gentle goodbye and kissing Shikamaru softly on the lips, and not being surprised when he did not quite kiss back, Temari walked off to complete the work she had solemnly swore she would finish before the day was over.

Once she was gone Shikamaru stretched out on the ground underneath his little tree. The breeze was blowing again and he could just slightly see the clouds through the swaying branches of the tree. It was a peaceful sight, and one that Shikamaru had fallen in love with a long time ago. Everything was perfect, he was well fed, the weather was calm and he did not have to be anywhere as of yet. However…why if everything was perfect did he not quite feel at ease as he would have expected. Something was missing, but as Shikamaru thought about it, he decided it was definitely too troublesome to figure out, and instead sleep consumed him.

To be continued in the next Chapter whenever I write it. Please R&R and PULEAZE don't flame me about the ShikaTema….it's not my opinion but it needs to be discussed. And at that…Please don't flame about couplings.


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